Buyer information GM Truck

I'm looking to buy a Early 90's or late 80's GM truck. Can you guys point me in the right direction for a reliable Engine/Tranny combo because I will be towing a 2000 Lb. boat. I'd like to stick with Manual Tranny although that is hard to find. Pointers, anyone ?

I'm not an expert but 2000 lbs is not a unusually heavy load. Just about any engine tranny combo will work well. Of course the bigger the engine the easier to pull boat out of the water but a six cylinder will do fine with a 2K load on most ramps.

MC

This is from personal experience. I would not get a manual Silverado from 88 to 98. I believe the only engine offered with a manual is a 4.3L. I don't knock the 4.3, but I do knock the manual tranny. I had the "joy" of rebuilding one, and the problems just kept comming. First, the rear seal had worked it's way out causing all lubrication to be spilled out. This caused the counter shaft to overheat and fatigue the metal. Roller bearings melted their plastic cages and the shift forks were toast. It was cheaper to rebuild then replace, but it's also a lot harder to rebuild. You need a few expensive tools that would really make the job go by so much smoother. On top of that the clutch was replaced along with the Hydraulic Slave cylinder. After everything was put back together, I still ended up replacing the clutch master cylinder. It's plastic and doesn't take a lot of abuse.
The 4L60-E automatic transmission(which is what I have) is very reliable and fuel efficient, however they have a problem with a weakness in the reaction gear sunshell. It cracks under high stress. It can be an expensive fix. I do all my own work so it didn't bother me. Check out this site for the repair parts. I just use it for the pictures.

www.transmissioncenter.net/extreme_duty_parts.htm

However, most of the time, this part fails because people try and powerbrake their truck. They also rev the motor real high and drop the tranny into first causing massive shock to internal components. Last, people tow in Overdrive when they really should tow in 3rd because heats up the clutch packs and burns them up. The responsable driver will be aware of these things and not have these problems.

Here's what influenced my decision of my 1996 Z71 4x4 Ext Cab SB.

1. I didn't want the 200hp Throttle Body Injection 5.7L in the 88-95yrs. The 96-98 with MPI has 255hp 5.7L
2. I wanted On-Board-Diagnostics Generation II. The 95 and earlier models have OBD I, which you can scan most codes with a paper clip inserted in the "A" and "B" terminals in the connector under the steering column.
3. I wanted the 95 and later dashboard set up but I did not want the passenger side airbag that is added to the 97 and 98 models. It is ugly to me and I like having cupholders there. And I don't like the boxy, rectangular style of the 94 and earlier dashboards.
4. I like the composite headlights of my 96, not the ugly front end with glass replacable headlights.
5. I like the Fleetside Z71 look over the stepside, but thats me.
6. The ext cab allows me room to have luggage, friends, etc. The only downside to the design of my ext cab is the lack space to put a subwoofer. I want to keep the space that I have and not devote it to speakers. I found a premade formed enclosure (JL) that fits a 10" under the driver's side back seat. Now my stereo is very nice to listen too and thumps just enough to not attract the attention of Jonny Law.
7. I like the ride of a Independent Front Suspension of my truck over a solid front axle.
8. Parts are widely available and I have many choices for accesories.
9. After getting to know my new truck and giving it a major tune-up and fluid changes, I get nearly 24hwy/14city driving with 155,000miles.
10. One thing though, any truck you get, be prepared to spend at least $1000 on fix up from the previous owner not caring anymore. And that's just on parts. But then again, that was my experience and I do all my own work.

Last thing you should know about any Chevy truck your interested in should be the coolant, if it's got orange Death Cool, ask to see if in the truck's history if the intake gaskets were ever changed. If you see brown buildup in the overflow tank or orange crusty in the radiator, you may ask yourself how much your willing to spend if the radiator or heater core goes out due to clogging of the passages from the brown goo. The goo being a by-product of prolonged usage of the Dex-Cool Antifreeze. The preventitive maintainance would be to have it professionally flushed and refilled with good ol' green antifreeze.

All in all I am very happy with my 96, I don't think I'll part with it for a long time. When the drivetrain decides to die, I will pull it out and rebuild everything including the engine, tranny, transfer case(manual shift) and differentials. I'm just that crazy about my truck. -Chris

I currently have a '93 1500 Silverado for sale. Has a 5.7 and 4L60. Has lots more including a trans dooler and class 3 hitch. I have a few pics at this site: http://public.fotki.com/Willys33/ If you have any interest in this truck (or the 2000) please post a PM to me. I pulled a much heavier load than you're talking about and it did fine. Mike